Earlier this week, a study, carried out by researchers at Stanford University, emerged saying that fully one of every eight US residents suffers from "problematic Internet use", and it suggests that such an "addiction" can be as troubling as full-blown alcoholism. As someone who is tethered to the Internet around the clock, at work, at home, and via Blackberry, I can only shake my head at his overblown fear-mongering. Just because somebody happens to use a tool frequently, and enjoy its benefits, does not mean they are an addict, and even if symptoms common with addiction emerge, it doesn't mean that it can be as debilitating as something as serious as drug or alcohol abuse.

A few months ago, I jokingly posted my "Top Ten Things I'm Addicted To", ranging from Diet Coke to the iPod, the Blackberry and Internet in general. Given society's need to assign such allegiances as medical issues, some have gotten a lot of mileage from people like me who just happen to have found their routine and stuck with it.

To say that a person is "addicted to the Internet" is just as ridiculous as saying a truck driver is addicted to the radio, or couch potatoes are addicted to the television. While I'm sure there's a whole raft of folks who could improve their relationships with friends and family if they cut back on time spent in online chat rooms, online games, e-mail and blogs, myself potentially included, a significant number of us rely on the Internet for the very basis of our jobs, and find the Internet to present an amazing resource for communication with those same people we're assumedly neglecting.

When the Internet boom really started to take off in the mid-1990s, most of the fear and concerns thrown about were that stalkers were out there to find you, and that your credit card data could be stolen if you made online purchases. In fact I wrote a column for the Daily Cal in 1997 titled, "Net Results: Not that Scary", which addressed this very issue. Now, nearly a decade later, so many people have moved their businesses and their lives to the Internet that the concern is they're spending too much time, but those spreading fear are still out there.

Do I turn on the laptop first thing in the morning to check e-mail, catch up on RSS feeds and check Web sites? Yes. Is closing the laptop one of the last things I do before going to bed? Yes. Do I sit in front of an Intenet-connected monitor all day at the office? Usually. Do I wear an e-mail and Web connected Blackberry all day long? Yes. Is that a problem? No.

The number of hours in a day are still 24 - but the way I consume those 24 hours are differently distributed than they were before the Internet played such a role. Now, instead of staying up to see SportsCenter to learn the scores, I have already gotten the scores online as well as photos and recaps. The time taken to get that info is a lot less. Instead of calling home and talking with the family, I've read their blog, they've read mine, or we've shared comments and e-mail. Those calling us "Internet Addicts" akin to drunken louts who have given up their futures for the bottle is irresponsible and silly. We've just reapportioned our time and get more done - via the Web.

Ivan Pavlov's research centered around conditional reflexes, most notably for his work on dogs' anticipation of feeding, and how they would drool at the sounds associated with dinner, even if the food had not been presented. As a result, something can be called "Pavlovian" if you respond immediately to a sound in anticipation of what will come next.

In our home, our 16 year-old beagle thinks she has us mastered. Her mealtimes are fairly regular, as soon as I get up in the morning, and around 5:30 in the evening. My wife and I work together to make sure somebody gets home around 5:30, and at latest, six, to get the beagle her dinner, and as far as the dog is concerned, the rest of the day should be focused on an intermittent schedule of napping and snacking. Yet, despite her inability to master the English language, she can communicate quite well, and has discovered a way to summon our attention through a Pavlov-like action.

If her water dish runs low, whether intentionally or not, her drinking the lowest levels of the water causes her dog tags to hit the side of the metal bowl with a "ding, ding, ding!" While she won't directly tell us that her water is low, and she would like a refill, the bell-like "ding, ding, ding!" stops me from what I am doing, forcing to me to walk into the kitchen and fill her water dish, as expected. In effect, that turns our roles in reverse, with her using a bell to manipulate me.

It may be time for some experimentation of our own. What if we changed the bowl to plastic? How would she tell us then?

Listening to ''The Great Escape'', by BT (Play Count: 6)

Yesterday's record quarter for Apple came at a time when many analysts, media and fans are eager to see the company debut the next "big thing" to rival the iPod. With the device reaching it's five-year anniversary this month, Apple has morphed from niche computer maker to a serious brand leader for consumer devices, as well as top-notch computers and software. Now, everyone is guessing as to what is coming next from Cupertino.

It has been a long-held tradition among Macintosh supporters to try and get an early scoop on the next Apple rumor. Sometimes, they get it exactly right, as AppleInsider did with the G4 Cube years ago, or they get it wrong - as SpyMac did with the infamous iWalk. But as the iPod has transformed the company, you see more mainstream publications piling on, and analysts speculating when a new product will debut to impact revenue.

In the last two years, the most common demands are for Apple to debut a cellular phone and service, dubbed "iPhone", an Apple media center for the living room, and an iTunes movie download service, with a "true" video iPod. In the last few months the iTunes movie download service has been introduced, and iTV was previewed, though you can't buy one just yet. That leaves the iPhone and true video iPod to come.

Earlier this week, a site called TrustedReview said they had "a conversation with an extremely well informed exec" who spilled the beans on timing for the new touchscreen iPod. As if executives have opted not to honor NDAs and cross Steve Jobs. Not a good plan, especially now that we know companies like HP are all too happy to check your cell phone records in an attempt to plug leaks. Yet, the site says December is when we'll see the new iPod, explaining, partially, why Jobs to date has been so dismissive of Microsoft's Zune music player, as he was in Newsweek, recently. Meanwhile, also this week, Forbes says the new iPhone would debut in January. When Forbes starts rumors, you know something is up.

But while everybody is salivating over what's next, Apple is simply getting it done. The company is putting serious pressure on its rivals at Microsoft and Dell, and taking market share. Just imagine the hubbub when all these unannounced products actually do come to life...

Despite the White House's rosy outlook and continued denial over the country's strong opposition to their policies, voters across the United States are tired of the lies and corruption and scandal promoted by the Republican party and its leaders, and are ready to make a change. Early this November, for the first time in way too long, we are going to see a massive shift in Congressional party affiliations - one that threatens to sweep the Republicans out of the majority in both the House and the Senate.

Earlier this summer, the question was focused on whether the Democrats stood for anything, and if they could gain the necessary momentum to put a dent into the GOP's lead. Now, the question isn't if they will put a dent in it, but how big. Some are saying the margin of turnover from Republican to Democratic-held seats ranges anywhere from 20 to 50 seats in the House, and every poll I've seen has the Democrats eking out a slight majority in the Senate as well.

Aside from the omnipresent War On Iraq, now into its 4th year, Republicans have been fighting against self-made scandals involving Mark Foley and Jack Abramoff, and continued strife abroad, in Iran, in North Korea, and in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the Democrats, powered by Web-initiated campaigning and fundraising, have promoted candidates in nearly every race, and are set to do battle to make a change.

Yet, just like every other important topic under the Bush presidency, the GOP is completely out to lunch. Earlier this week, the Washington Post noted that the White House was "Upbeat About GOP Prospects", despite the fact that other papers, including the New York Times, noted the Republicans had abandoned some once-close races in favor of others, focusing on the "Best Bets" to try and maintain a majority, at any cost.

Change is in the wind, and after seeing the Bush presidency, hand in hand with a stubborn, pigheaded Republican-led Congress, turn back nearly all the gains of the Clinton years, we are weeks away from some first steps to regain the country's glory. All we have to do is vote.

Listening to ''High on Life'', by DJ Encore (Play Count: 9)